An independent candidate for the federal seat of Denison has ruled out any preference deals.
Political analysts predict Mr Wilkie will win a significant number of votes in the coming election. (Tasmanian Times psephologist says Wilkie has a very outside chance)
The incumbent, Labor MHR Duncan Kerr is retiring at the August election after more than 20 years and the Greens have excluded the seat from a preference deal with the ALP.
Mr Wilkie says if he favoured any one party, he would lose his independence.
“My supporters come from right across the political spectrum, people who might normally vote Labor or Liberals or Greens, and it’s important that I respect their position and respect the fact that they might want to go back to any number of parties after they give me my number one vote,” he said.
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Denison: Greens prefer no preferences
The Australian Greens say the Tasmanian seat of Denison is just one of a number of seats where the party will not be directing preferences to Labor in next month’s federal election.
Senator Christine Milne says under the terms of a deal struck with Labor nationally, the ALP will give the Greens preferences in the Senate in exchange for Greens preferences in some House of Representatives seats.
Senator Milne says negotiations over which seats this will happen in are still underway.
“The party, the Australian Greens, will be releasing in the next day or so the full list of seats that are directing preferences to Labor, but it’s certainly not all the lower house seats in Australia,” she said.
Senator Milne says a full list will be announced by Friday.
“Thereafter local groups will be negotiating with the other politicial parties to talk about how the preferences might be directed in those seats that are not part of a nationally organised deal.”
Denison is widely regarded as Australia’s ‘greenest’ electorate.
